News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-08-11
THE OLD EDITOR.
A Story of Ppe aand PAPER and AuId
ians syne.
From the Dakota Bell

/
The old man called his paper the
Deuel. County Palladium. A younger
man had paper in the same place
called the Goodwin Rustler The. old
man had not the strength nor taste for
gathering much local news, but he
wrote long and sometimes able editorials.
The Hustler mancould not have writ
ten an editorial of any kind if he had
tried, but got lots of personals" and
items about new front gates and the
births of twin calls People took the
Rustler and ignored and made fun of
the Palladium.
Sometimes the old man would speak
about 1t. '"There is an editorial Oh our
common school SYSTEM" he would say,
(which Is better than the one 1 once
published on the same subject in the
Herklmer County Palladium while [
was running that paper, when it had
th1rty-hve hundred circulation. [ hate
to praise my own work, but l know that
article is good. But no one will read it,
or If some one should he wont appreci-
lie 1t. 1t is almost sixty years since |
| learned my trade and | have published
newspapers for nearly fifty. 1t makes
me feel discouraged to think that after
all these years my work is not valued
more highly. But am going to do the
best | can and may God grant that 1
may die i'll community where will be
! better appreciated
!. Poor old man I can see him yet as
he sits at a rough board table in rough
er board Office, both of which he had
made himself, working away on an edi-
I/r IL
| AS the winter came on he grew less
able to write or do other work. 1t was
| too much for him to roll while /
'pulled'' the old hand-press, so he would
sit and watch me and fold the papers
while did 6ofifs salhing around the
press each time. But it was not very
| hard even then-we only printed ninety
six papers.
After while some of his editorials
! hardly read as clearly as they should.
L frequently had to study over and rear
range involved sentences as l stood at
the case. And few / could make no
''head or tall oatall and quietly threw
away. used to help him as much as
possible, pick up as much news as 1
could on the street and try to get sub
seriber occasionally. VanNess would
never himself ask man to take his
paper or even to pay him if he owed
him. He hardly took in dollar from
one weeks end to the other. He had
paid me but little for long time, but 1
was determined to see him through the
winter at least. He lived alone in the
Office and just managed to get enough
money from the advertisers to bu' y food.
One week just before Christmas we
We're behind-hand with the work. I
had had to wait for copy" 1t was Fri
day afternoon and was already growing
dark i'll the back part of the room where
[ worked. / went to the hook and found
a long piece. 1t would make a column
and baltimore than we wanted. /
spoke to Van Ness about it, but he was
looking out of the little window which
faced to the west and said nothing.
returned to the case and began reading
the article. 1t started as an editorial
on Christmas and why we observed it,
but it soon ran into strange personal
matters, a sort of biography, long ago
boyish Incidents references to his moth
er again and again, and then to another
IDENTIFY his children, but it said they
were Ill gone, anu dU Tile emu III Wdnuer-
ed back to his mother again and his
earliest childhood scenes, and the sen
fences and words became tangled, only
1 could see the old man was boy again
and that his mother was bending over
him and watching him at his childish
play as she did long years ago.
l laid down the manuscript and turn
ed to where the old man sat. He was
leaning back in his chair, gazing out of
the window. L stepped to his side; he
Just raised his eyes, but did not appear
to know me. Again he gazed out the
window at the red and golden clouds in
the west where the sun had just sunk
out of sight. 1t was beautiful sight
and seemed os if spread ont there that
the old man might gaze on it and see
beauty and peace as he passed away
''See the clouds, how beautiful they
are, 5" he said, after few minutes, ''they
seem just beyond the bend in the river
the grand old Mohawk-and the trees
in the woods down beyond the pasture
See them grow brighter and more beau
tiful-but it is cold here, very cold; let
me get up and 1 will put some more
wood ON the fireplace" He tried to
rise, but sank back.
The old man had written his last edi-
tOrial.